Jailed Palestinian leader will run for Arafat's job

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Marwan Barghouti, a fiery Palestinian leader serving multiple life terms in an Israeli prison, indicated Thursday that he is running for Yasser Arafat's position as head of the Palestinian Authority, defying the traditional leadership and scrambling the political picture ahead of the Jan. 9 election. Barghouti, 45, is challenging interim leader Mahmoud Abbas, 69, a pragmatist who appears to have the tacit support of Israel and the United States.

Iran wants centrifuges exempt in uranium deal

VIENNA, Austria -- Iran insisted Thursday it had a right to exempt some equipment from an agreement with the European Union committing it to freeze all parts of a program that can make nuclear weapons-grade uranium -- a move that diplomats said threatened to scuttle the deal. Iran says it only wants to produce nuclear fuel, but the United States and some allies insist Tehran seeks to make highly enriched uranium used in the core of nuclear warheads. Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief U.N. nuclear watchdog, revealed Iran still refuses to include some centrifuges in the agreement, which the EU says mandates a suspension of all activities related to enrichment.

Nine bodies found in Cancun; two police

CANCUN, Mexico -- Police discovered the bodies of nine people, including three federal agents, at two sites outside this resort city. Authorities said the killing were probably linked to a drug turf war. The bodies of five men were found on a dirt road, just off the highway leading to the airport, 10 miles south of Cancun. Each victim had been shot in the head and one was found with his hands tied behind his back, an assistant state attorney general said.

-- From wire reports